Earlier I wrote about extreme danger associated with the jobs in the Vatican’s basement laundry (HERE), and a connection to the devastating inferno that burned down the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (formerly above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard in historic Washerst, PA). Pope Francis, a frequent visitor to the Emmett Lee Dickinson, contributed to the cause of that fire with heavy loads of drying in the coin-op laundromat. In a way of atoning for his grief and guilt, he opened a laundromat for the homeless in Rome on National Laundry Day, April 15, 2017.

A similar destructive fire occurred in the mid-1800s. Known as the Great Fire of Toronto, the disaster was the first major fire in the history of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Much of the Market Block, the business core of the city, was wiped out, including the predecessor of the current St. James Cathedral.

​The first there began shortly after Pope Pius IX, the longest-reigning elected pope in the history of the Catholic Church, visited St. James Cathedral and washed and dried heavy loads of papal gowns in the cathedral’s basement laundry. Because the laundry’s vents were already clogged with lint, the added lint from Pius IX’s robes contributed to the cause of the conflagration.Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) was in Canada at the time, and he witness the dreadful destruction of the fire. He wrote about it in his now classic poem, “I could not put the Fire out” (below on the left). His first inspired third-cousin Emily to pen her poem, “You cannot put a Fire out” (below on the right).

Pictured at the right: The ruins of the St. James Cathedral after the Great Fire of Toronto.​

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

I could not put the Fire out –The Thing I did igniteAnd so, myself, without some Guilt –On almost every Night –

A laundered Flood of Robes –I put them in a Dryer--Because the Vents were clogged with lint –For miles you’d See the Fire​

By Emily Dickinson:

You cannot put a Fire out--A Thing that can igniteCan go, itself, without a Fan –Upon the slowest Night –

You cannot fold a Flood –And put it in a Drawer –Because the Winds would find it out –And tell your Cedar Floor –​

Pope Francis, born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio and who attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Buenos Aires, Argentina (information is HERE; scroll down to the information on Pope Francis),

This might come as somewhat of a surprise, but one of the most dangerous jobs in the world takes place at the Vatican, and the hazardous work has nothing to do with the Pope’s security force. No, on the list of “most dangerous jobs in the world,” it’s number three:

TOP FIVE MOST DANGEROUS JOBS IN THE WORLD:

5. Underwater Welder4. Smoke Jumpers (Skydivers who parachute into fire zones to fight a wild fire before it spreads)3. Launderer in the Vatican2. Political Reporter in Moscow1. Target Girls (Women who volunteer to have daggers thrown at them by Magicians and Knife Throwers)

That’s right – launderers, washerwomen and men, and dryer monitors in the massive laundry in the basement of the Vatican perform one of the world’s most dangerous jobs, because if the dryer vents in the immense basement laundry aren’t cleaned regularly, thick layers of lint from the many heavy and voluminous papal gowns build up quickly on the heating elements inside the dryers which can cause them to overheat and catch fire.

Such a fire – one caused by the profuse build-up of papal lint from the Pope's gowns and robes – caused the destructive fire at the coin-op Laundromat beneath the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum that burned the museum down on New Year’s Eve in 2015 and destroyed much of the downtown area of historic Washerst (the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request).

Yes, lint from Pope Francis’ gowns contributed to the devastating inferno. News from The New York Times reported the following:

“The conflagration was sparked by trapped exhaust in the clogged dryer vents of the coin-op laundromat. Fire Marshal Les Burns reported that the laundromat’s dryer vents had not been cleaned in years. In addition, a source from the Vatican who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that Pope Francis (a frequent visitor to the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum) added to the mass of lint when he visited the laundromat last October and laundered multiple heavy loads of Papal robes without using dryer sheets.”

Pictured at the right: News coverage of the devastating fire in Washerst which destroyed the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard. Below: A tweet from Pope Francis following the fire. Click the images to enlarge.

Now, on National Laundry Day, April 15 2017, Pope Francis – in association with the Vatican’s Papal Almoner’s Office -- is opening the “Lavanderia di Papa Francesco” (“Pope Francis Laundry”), a laundromat for the poor and homeless of Rome.“What else could I do,” said the Pope. “Due to my carelessness, I ended up destroying one of the great museums of the world.” “But,” he added, “my humble gesture takes on significant meaning since my laundromat is opening on National Laundry Day, a day of cleanliness established by Emmett Lee Dickinson himself.”

In the Huffington Post's article "11 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About 'A Hard Day's Night,'" writer Lauren Duce points out that "the wily “grandfather” character (Wilfrid Brambell) was only 50 at the time. The running joke of him being called a “clean old man” is a reference to the Beatles' favorite poet, Emmett Lee Dickinson."

That's right. Emmett Lee Dickinson was, at times, known as a "clean old man" after he established April 15th as National Laundry Day."

Pictured at the left: The final bullet point in the excerpt of the Huffington Post article "11 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About 'A Hard Day's Night'" notes that the moniker "clean old man" in the movie refers to Emmett Lee Dickinson.

Dickinson came up with the idea for a national day dedicated to the task of doing laundry after he wrote his now-classic poem, "The vastest earthly Day's" (below on the left).

In addition to inspiring Dickinson to create a holiday centered on doing laundry, the poem "The vastest earthly Day's" also inspired third cousin Emily Dickinson to pen her poem "The vastest earthly Day" (below on the right).

Last week, in the midst of her New Hampshire campaign, Hillary Clinton flew to Flint, Michigan, to show her support for the people there. “I will stand with you every step of the way,” said Clinton.

In a similar vein, Jimmy Kimmel has left Hollywood more than a half-a-dozen times to travel to Washerst, PA, to offer his support in the re-building of the historic downtown area that was destroyed by the New Year’s fire (information on the fire is HERE). In particular, Kimmel has focused his initial efforts on the reconstruction of the coin-op Laundromat that was situated below the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum. Both burned down to the ground in the overnight inferno.

Pictured at the right: Jameson "Jimmy" Kimmel at age 3.

Kimmel said that he would dedicate whatever time is necessary to see this endeavor through because both of his parents devoted their lives to careers in the field of laundry services. Helmut Kimmel, Jimmy Kimmel’s father, earned an Associate’s Degree from the internationally-acclaimed Washerst Dry Cleaning Academy, and he was a certified Martinizer at the Kwik Kleen One Hour Dry Kleaner. Kimmel’s mother, Swannanoa Kimmel, was a laundress, and for many years, she was the Primary Assurance and Accountability Networker for the National Association for Laundry and Linen Management.

Together, the National Association for Laundry and Linen Management, The National Council on Dry Cleaning, Clotheslines, and Fabricare Studies, and the International Institute of Laundry and Ironing Sciences will honor Kimmel on National Laundry Day (April 15, 2016) with the prestigious Order of the Immaculate Purifier

Pictured at the left: Jimmy Kimmel's parents, Swannanoa Kimmel and Helmut Kimmel. Both devoted their lives to careers in the field of laundry services.

Jimmy Kimmel attended the Emmett Lee School for Boys in Las Vegas, Nevada. For information, click HERE and scroll down to the entry dated September 18th.